ENVISION UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (1998-2002)
In 1998, Fregonese Associates began helping the Coalition
for Utah’s Future develop a regional growth management
strategy for the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which
encompassed 1,200 square miles of the Wasatch Front
Region. As lead consultant, Fregonese Associates
connected all stakeholders including governments, local
businesses and the public. This values-driven process
synthesized extensive public involvement and scientific
analyses. Key issues addressed included controlling urban
sprawl, protecting environmental quality, strengthening
the regional economy, and providing affordable housing.
Based upon a analysis of geographic, demographic,
environmental and transportation conditions, Fregonese
Associates helped develop four alternative growth
scenarios to present to the public. Through input from
three rounds of workshops, a wide-circulation newspaper
and web survey, a preferred scenario was selected.
Fregonese Associates assisted in the development of the
Quality Growth Scenario based on the public’s preferred
scenario and used it to refine land use and transportation
models for the region. This Quality Growth Scenario
incorporated population and employment projections
and integrated the results of a housing demand study
commissioned by Envision Utah, which projected the
future housing preferences of the region based on
expected growth and demographics changes.
Envision Utah participants work to build concensus on a vision for the region.
Transportation Corridor. The study was used to evaluate
the potential impact of transportation and growth
management policies. Additionally, ECO worked with the
American Planning Association to develop a guidebook
for local planners on the purposes and techniques of
economic development. This guidebook was created
specifically for Envision Utah, but has since been used in
local jurisdictions around the country to determine and
implement public sector plans to encourage job and
industry growth.
Fregonese Associates has continued to be called on for
local plan implementation, including the Mountainview
Corridor that coordinated freeway, transit and land use
on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley, local plans for
transit oriented development in Provo, and comprehensive
planning for Utah County.
Fregonese Associates assisted the Coalition for Utah’s
Future to develop a toolbox of model ordinances and
provided implementation tools to cities for free. A series
of training forums was attended by more than 80% of
the region’s cities; roughly two-thirds have adopted at
least some of the Envision Utah model codes. Seeing the
success of the Vision in action, the agency responded by
providing planning support to cities, neighborhoods and
subregions to support a series of comprehensive plan
updates, local visioning efforts, corridor plans and specific
transit oriented development projects. For these efforts,
the American Planning Association selected Envision Utah
as winner of the national 2002 Daniel Burnham Award.
ECONorthwest also assisted with Envision Utah. ECO
conducted a housing market analysis of the West Side
REFERENCE:
A detailed constraints and
transportation map from Envision Utah.
Alan Matheson
Executive Director
Envision Utah
254 South 600 East, Suite 201
Salt Lake City, UT 84102
(801) 303-1452